Central Valley's Dylan Darling is SBLive's 2021-22 Washington state high school boys basketball player of the year
The final moments of Dylan Darling's high school basketball career offer a fitting snapshot.
He hobbled off the Tacoma Dome hardwood with a towel over his head. He’d just given one last Herculean effort on a stage he fought tooth-and-nail to return to.
He didn’t just score 30 points in 12-seed Central Valley’s opening round 4A state tournament loss to Kamiakin. The 6-foot-2 guard also guarded 6-foot-9 Oregon State commit Tyler Bilodeau, and sported a busted lower lip to show for it.
“No one expected us to be here,” Mike Arte, Central Valley’s acting coach, said after CV’s first round loss. “You look around the dome, there’s one team that kind of looks different than the other ones. It’s us, we’re all 6-2 and shorter, just battling our asses off.”
At the center of that was Darling, SBLive’s Washington all-classification boys basketball state player of the year.
When it was all said and done, the hot-shooting left-handed guard who averaged 33.2 points on 55 percent shooting, 8.5 boards, 5.8 assists and 4.4 steals per game —all team highs — didn’t have anyone left to convince. Not even the coaching staff at Washington State, where his dad James Darling starred as a linebacker, who watched Darling live in Tacoma and offered him a basketball scholarship in the days following.
“I was really happy with the way it ended,” Darling said.
As a sophomore, Darling was a key cog off the bench in the Bears state 4A runner-up finish. As a junior, he stepped in as point guard for a team that had aspirations to go back to Tacoma and win it all, if the COVID-19 pandemic had let them.
SBLive's all-state basketball teams
- All-classification boys coach of the year: Auburn's Ryan Hansen
- All-classification all-state teams, all-state teams for each WIAA boys classification
- All-classification girls coach of the year: Lake Washington's Jeff Wilson
- All-classification all-state teams, all-state teams for each WIAA girls classification
- All-classification girls player of the year: Woodinville's Tatum Thompson
So his senior season, on a team that replaced just about its entire rotation, Darling was determined to bring them back — even if it at times meant carrying them. And he knew scoring alone wouldn’t get them there. He needed to score efficiently and keep collapsing defenses honest by finding teammates.
“He throws to guys who are open and when we need a bucket, we knew we needed to have the ball in his hands,” Central Valley acting head coach Geoff Arte said. “He just plays really good basketball, and that’s what we try to do at CV.”
First, he scored 53 points against Post Falls on Nov. 30, breaking a school scoring record that had stood since 1984.
Then he broke the Greater Spokane League’s single-game scoring record of 58 points against North Central. Smashed Adam Morrison’s league scoring average by seven points, averaging 35.6 points over 13 contests, garnering praise from the former college All-American and two-time NBA champion.
And when Central Valley needed a win to extend its season, he delivered on that, too, leading the Bears to a third place 3A/4A GSL league finish and win-or-go home games over Richland in districts and a 48-point performance to beat Woodinville in the regional round, booking a return trip to state.
That was Darling, always one-upping himself — especially with when the game, or the season were on the line. Opposing coaches, like Gonzaga Prep’s Matty McIntyre, went out of their way to praise him.
“I’ve coached against a lot of kids who can score and get 30, 40 points,” McIntyre said. “But he knows how to pick his spots, pick the moments and he just makes the right play. Kudos to him, he’s a terrific player.”
Mt. Spokane’s David Wagenblast said it after a Jan. 29 loss to the Bears, in which Darling went for 47 points, eight boards six assists and six steals:
“One kid beat our team yesterday," Wagenblast said, "and we've got a good team. That's how good he is.”
Added Kamiakin coach Brian Meneely after the first round state bout:
“I’ve seen guys score like that, but not shoot with the efficiency he did," Meneely said. "To have to play him three times, that’s enough heartburn, man.”
To Arte, Darling is best described by his dedication to the team, which is demonstrated by his progression in the program, priding himself on mastering his role and shouldering more and more each year.
So, what’s next for Darling?
He’s committed to Idaho State, though his recruitment might not be over. After a years-long process he describes as unexpectedly quiet, he said the early March Washington State offer opened the door for an influx of additional Division I interest.
Whatever is ahead for Darling, he moves to his next chapter with the same satisfaction he's held since leaving the Tacoma Dome on March 2.
“I made sure this whole year — I’d say this to myself, my parents would say it — ‘just don’t take it for granted, the good and the bad,” Darling said. “Because time really flies,’ ”
